It's a common saying today. It is something I hear all the time. It is also something that grates on my nerves. I'm a survivor ! OMG, if you are still breathing you are a survivor that is pretty obvious ! If you didn't survive, you are a fatality. I can't put my finger on just why, but that phrase just annoys me. If I get a cold, when its' over I don't go around saying, I survived. Survival implies you were in immediate danger of dying. at least that is what it means to me. The key being " immediate " as in on the edge. Being a survivor doesn't mean I recovered from an illness. Recovery and survival are different things. I was granted recovery. Survival is dependent upon a degree of good fortune or luck. True, you can posses skills that enabled you to survive, you were prepared, but that wasn't your intent when you set out. Your intent was not to come as close to death as possible and survive. If it were you wouldn't have taken the time and effort to learn those survival skills in the first place. That's just common sense.
I think what bothers me is the implication that you should be rewarded in some fashion for being a survivor. Hey, you survived, that is the reward. Surviving an illness isn't an accomplishment to be rewarded, still being alive is the reward. The attitude should be one of gratitude, thanking your God you survived. Anytime something bad happens within 800 yards of you and you don't get hurt that doesn't make you a survivor. You had good fortune or luck in you prefer that term. You don't get awarded the medal of valor ! And I think that may be at the core of all this " survivor " stuff these days. Everyone is so used to being rewarded just for living, they are beginning to believe it is an accomplishment ! Well, it's not. Life is a gift given by the grace of God and can be taken away just as quickly. Oh you can survive just about anything if you have good luck, or the way I see it the protection of a loving God. That explains the unexplained circumstance that allow us to make it through accidents, assaults, and other situations that should kill us. It wasn't your time is the quick answer. You didn't survive, you were saved !
How did we get to this point ? That is what I often think about. It seems like so many are demanding, no expecting, to be rewarded for every little thing they do. Participation awards for living. I was on the subway when the train stopped, it was stopped for half an hour but I'm a survivor ! I survived the subway shutdown. My phone lost it's charge but I survived ! My thinking is that it may be because we stopped teaching our children about the real reward for a life well lived. The things we accumulate here are mere trinkets, something to amuse until we receive the ultimate reward. When you learn to live your life expecting no reward for waking up in the morning, instead being grateful for that gift, your attitude changes. We have been promised a reward, life without end. That is the ultimate survival ! And you can't get that by lying, cheating, stabbing your fellow man in the back and making demands. Humility is the key that unlocks the gates of heaven. It isn't the garnering of accolades. Instead of saying look at me I'm a survivor, you should be thankful that you have been " saved. " It is salvation that grants eternal life. Earn that and you will have survived.
I think what bothers me is the implication that you should be rewarded in some fashion for being a survivor. Hey, you survived, that is the reward. Surviving an illness isn't an accomplishment to be rewarded, still being alive is the reward. The attitude should be one of gratitude, thanking your God you survived. Anytime something bad happens within 800 yards of you and you don't get hurt that doesn't make you a survivor. You had good fortune or luck in you prefer that term. You don't get awarded the medal of valor ! And I think that may be at the core of all this " survivor " stuff these days. Everyone is so used to being rewarded just for living, they are beginning to believe it is an accomplishment ! Well, it's not. Life is a gift given by the grace of God and can be taken away just as quickly. Oh you can survive just about anything if you have good luck, or the way I see it the protection of a loving God. That explains the unexplained circumstance that allow us to make it through accidents, assaults, and other situations that should kill us. It wasn't your time is the quick answer. You didn't survive, you were saved !
How did we get to this point ? That is what I often think about. It seems like so many are demanding, no expecting, to be rewarded for every little thing they do. Participation awards for living. I was on the subway when the train stopped, it was stopped for half an hour but I'm a survivor ! I survived the subway shutdown. My phone lost it's charge but I survived ! My thinking is that it may be because we stopped teaching our children about the real reward for a life well lived. The things we accumulate here are mere trinkets, something to amuse until we receive the ultimate reward. When you learn to live your life expecting no reward for waking up in the morning, instead being grateful for that gift, your attitude changes. We have been promised a reward, life without end. That is the ultimate survival ! And you can't get that by lying, cheating, stabbing your fellow man in the back and making demands. Humility is the key that unlocks the gates of heaven. It isn't the garnering of accolades. Instead of saying look at me I'm a survivor, you should be thankful that you have been " saved. " It is salvation that grants eternal life. Earn that and you will have survived.
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